Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in brief

Saw this tonight with a bunch of film fans at the Alamo South Lamar; the optimal viewing experience as far as I'm concerned.

I'm not sure where the backlash is coming from on this movie. If you had to make a 4th Indy movie, this would be about as good as you could do it. I really enjoyed myself, more for the spectacle and creep-out factor than for the acting -- everyone was great, but c'mon: giant ants! Heroes plummeting over waterfalls! Ancient ruins with intricate death traps! It's really all about the set pieces. Harrison Ford and Karen Allen still have great chemistry, and Cate Blanchett looks like she's having a ball. Shia Lebouf isn't who I'd pick as the heir to the hat, but he performs admirably.

The last 20 minutes are definitely the weakest, but by that time the flick has built up so much good will it's hard to find fault with much. Nothing can compare to the original Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with the latter two films, and we can all breathe a heavy sigh of relief. Finally, a return to a beloved franchise that doesn't completely blow chunks.